APPENDIX 4

Chronology Of Major Events In Manned Space Flight And In Project
Apollo, 1957-1975

1957

October:

The Soviet Union placed the first artificial earth satellite
(Sputnik) into orbit.

1958

April:

The Air Force contracted with the Yerkes Observatory, University of
Chicago, to produce a new lunar photographic atlas. The Air Force
published a development plan for its manned space program, which
included two exploratory man-in-space projects, a lunar reconnaissance
mission and a manned lunar landing and return; the plan envisioned
completion of the program in seven years at a cost of $1.5 billion.

June:

The Air Force contracted with Rocketdyne to design a single-chamber
rocket engine burning kerosene and liquid oxygen and producing 1 to 1.5
million pounds of thrust.

July:

President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act
of 1958 (P.L. 85-568) establishing the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.

October:

The Special Committee on Space Technology, created in January 1958
and chaired by H. Guyford Stever of MIT, reported its recommendations:
development of both clustered- and single-engine boosters of million-
pound thrust; vigorous attack on the problems of sustaining man in the
space environment; development of lifting reentry vehicles; research on
high-energy propellant systems for launch vehicle upper stages; and
evaluation of existing boosters and upper stages followed by intensive
development of those promising greatest utility.

November:

A Space Task Group (STG) was organized at Langley Research Center to
implement NASA's first manned satellite project (Mercury). Robert R.
Gilruth was named project manager.

1959

January:

In a report of the staff of the House Select Committee on
Astronautics and Space Exploration entitled "The Next Ten Years in
Space, 1959-1969," Wernher von Braun of the Army Ballistic Missile
Agency predicted a manned flight around the moon within 8 to 10 years
and a manned lunar landing and return a few years later. NASA and
industry officials envisioned similar progress.

March:

The first F-1 engine was successfully test-fired by Rocketdyne,
producing more than one million pounds of thrust.

April:

NASA announced the selection of seven pilots for the Mercury
program. NASA created a Research Steering Committee on Manned Space
Flight. Over the next several months this committee examined long-term
human-in-space problems to recommend future missions and coordination of
research programs at the NASA centers. At its May 25-26 meeting the
committee recommended the manned lunar landing as a focal point for
studies in propulsion, vehicle configuration, structure, and guidance
requirements, since a lunar landing would constitute an end objective
that did not have to be justified in terms of its contribution to a more
useful goal.

November:

STG appointed a panel to study preliminary design of a multiperson
spacecraft for a circumlunar mission, conduct mission analyses, and plan
a test program.

1960

January:

NASA presented its ten-year plan to Congress, calling for a pro'
gram leading to manned circumlunar flight and a permanent earth-orbiting
space station to start in 1965-1967 and a manned lunar landing some time
beyond 1970. Cost estimates for the plan ran to $1.5 billion annually
for five years.

February:

NASA approved Project Ranger, a project to send an unmanned,
hard-landing spacecraft to the moon to relay television pictures of the
lunar surface to earth during the final stages of its flight.

March:

The Army Ballistic Missile Agency's Development Operations Division
at Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama, headed by Wernher von Braun,
was transferred to NASA as the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.

April-May:

STG developed guidelines for the advanced manned spacecraft program,
including detailed propulsion and spacecraft requirements.

May:

A meeting on space rendezvous was held at Langley Research Center to
discuss the problems of bringing two spacecraft together in space.

NASA began work on a project (later named Surveyor) to send
a soft-landing spacecraft to the moon to provide scientific and
engineering data on the lunar surface.

July:

The House Committee on Science and Astronautics urged NASA to
intensify its efforts to send humans to the moon and back "in this
decade." In the committee's view, NASA's ten-year plan did not go
far enough and the space agency was not pressing forward with enough
energy.

July:

The name "Apollo" was approved for the advanced manned
space flight program.

NASA held its first NASA-Industry Program Plans Conference in Washington
to brief industrial management on the overall space program. George M.
Low, chief of NASA's Manned Space Flight program, stated that
circumlunar flight and earth-orbiting missions would be carried out
before 1970, leading eventually to a manned lunar landing and a
permanent space station in earth orbit.

September:

NASA issued a formal request for proposals for six-month feasibility
studies for advanced manned spacecraft, to define a system fulfilling
STG guidelines, formulate a plan for implementing the program, identify
areas requiring long lead-time research and development, and estimate
the total cost of the program. In October proposals were received from
14 companies, and in November contracts were awarded to
Convair/Astronautics Division of General Dynamics Corp., General
Electric Company, and The Martin Company.

November:

A program of detailed studies of lunar geology was undertaken by the
U.S. Geological Survey, funded by NASA.

STG proposed to organize a number of Technical Liaison Groups to
coordinate the activities of NASA centers in research for Apollo.

1961

January:

A meeting of the Space Exploration Program Council discussed the
manned lunar landing project, with emphasis on three methods of
conducting the mission: direct ascent, rendezvous of spacecraft in earth
orbit, and rendezvous in lunar orbit. It was decided that all three
methods should be explored thoroughly. The Council established a
committee headed by George M. Low to define the elements of the project
insofar as possible.

February:

The Instrumentation Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology was selected to conduct a six- month study of a navigation
and guidance system for the Apollo spacecraft.

March:

The Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences
recommended that "scientific exploration of the moon and planets
should be clearly stated as the ultimate objective of the U.S. space
program for the forseeable future."

STG proposed a new NASA development center to manage the development
of manned spacecraft and projects.

The United States launched its first human into space, Lt. Cmdr. Alan B.
Shepard, Jr., who rode a Mercury spacecraft (Freedom 7) on
a parabolic flight path 116.5 miles high and landed 320 miles down
range.

Final reports of the six-month feasibility studies for advanced manned
spacecraft were submitted to STG by the three contractors.

President John F. Kennedy addressed Congress on "urgent national
needs," which included new long-range goals for the American space
program. Kennedy expressed his belief that the nation should adopt the
goal, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and
returning him safely to the earth." He requested additional
appropriations of $611 million for NASA and DoD for fiscal 1962.

NASA appointed a committee (Lundin committee) to study all possible
approaches for accomplishing a manned lunar landing in the period
1967-1970 and to make rough estimates of costs and schedules.

July:

Twelve companies were invited to submit proposals for the Apollo
spacecraft. A detailed statement of work, based on contractor and NASA
design studies, was provided for a three-phase program terminating in a
lunar landing. NASA and DoD created a Large Launch Vehicle Planning
Group to study development of large launch vehicles for the national
space program.

August:

NASA selected the Instrumentation Laboratory of MIT to develop the
guidance and navigation system for the Apollo Spacecraft.

September:

After a study of several locations around the country, NASA selected
a site near Houston, Texas, for its new development center for manned
spacecraft. The center would design, develop, and test new manned
spacecraft, train astronauts, and operate the control center for manned
space missions. In October the Space Task Group, still based at Langley,
was formally redesignated as the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC);
personnel would move to Houston starting in 1962.

October:

John C. Houbolt and others at Langley Research Center presented to
the Large Launch Vehicle Planning Group a study on the use of
lunar-orbit rendezvous in a manned lunar landing. November: After
evaluation of proposals from five companies, NASA selected the Space and
Information Division of North American Aviation, Inc., Downey,
California, to design and build the Apollo spacecraft. December: MSC
announced a new manned program using a two-man version of the Mercury
spacecraft, which would test techniques of rendezvous in earth
orbit.

1962

February:

The first American to orbit the earth, Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr.,
USMC, completed three orbits in a Mercury spacecraft and returned safely
to earth. February-June: Several groups within NASA were intensively
studying the various modes of going to the moon (direct ascent,
rendezvous in earth orbit, rendezvous in lunar orbit). The third method
required a separate spacecraft to detach itself, land on the moon, and
return to lunar orbit to rendezvous with the Apollo spacecraft.

March:

At the request of the Office of Manned Space Flight, American
Telephone & Telegraph established a group called Bellcomm, Inc., to
provide independent analysis of systems and problems in the manned space
flight program. For the duration of Apollo, Bellcomm performed many
services, including advice on selection of landing sites, for OMSF.

July:

NASA Headquarters announced that the lunar-orbit rendezvous mode had
been selected for the manned lunar landing project and that requests for
proposals would be issued for the second spacecraft (the "lunar
excursion module"). MSC invited 11 firms to submit proposals for
the lunar excursion module. Nine companies responded; in November NASA
selected the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Company to build the module.

August:

A summer study conducted by the Space Science Board at the State
University of Iowa examined the state of NASA's space research program
and made recommendations concerning future efforts. Many scientists
expressed objections to Apollo (which was not specifically on their
agenda), but the study cautiously endorsed the program's scientific
goals.

September:

A second group of nine test-pilot astronauts was selected for the
manned space flight program.

November:

MSC released sketches of the space suit assembly and portable
lifesupport system to be used on the lunar surface.

December:

A contract was awarded for construction of a Vertical Assembly
Building at NASA's Merritt Island Launch Area, Kennedy Space Center. The
$100-million structure would provide space for assembling four Saturn V
launch vehicles simultaneously.

1963

February:

The President's budget request for fiscal 1964 included $5.712
billion for NASA. $1.207 billion was for Apollo - almost a threefold
increase over the previous year.

April:

Preliminary plans for Apollo scientific instruments were completed.
Emphasis was placed on experiments that promised maximum return for the
least weight and complexity and were man-oriented and compatible with
weight and volume available in the spacecraft. Experiments would be
selected after evaluation of proposals from outside scientists.

May:

The Mercury project ended with the 34-hour, 22-orbit flight of
astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, Jr., in the spacecraft Faith 7.

August:

NASA Headquarters approved the Lunar Orbiter project, which would
use unmanned spacecraft to take detailed photographs of the lunar
surface to be used in selecting landing sites for Apollo.

Headquarters sent MSC some general guidelines for scientific
investigations of the moon. Principal scientific activity was expected
to include comprehensive observation of lunar phenomena, collection of
geologic samples, and emplacement of monitoring equipment.

October:

Fourteen more test pilots were selected as astronauts.

November:

A Manned Space Science Division was established in the Office of
Space Science and Applications (OSSA), NASA Headquarters, to coordinate
the efforts of OSSA and the Office of Manned Space Flight in developing
scientific experiments for Apollo.

MSC's Space Environment Division recommended 10 specific areas on the
moon for evaluation as landing sites for Apollo. These sites and others
would be photographed by Lunar Orbiter, after which some would be
selected as targets for Surveyor, a project to land unmanned spacecraft
on the moon and study the surface.

President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that NASA's Launch Operations
Center at Cape Canaveral (Atlantic Missile Range) would be designated
the John F. Kennedy Space Center.

December:

An ad hoc group working on Apollo experiments recommended the
principal scientific objectives of the program: examination of the
surface around the landed spacecraft, geological mapping, investigation
of the moon's interior (with instruments), studies of the lunar
atmosphere, and radio astronomy from the surface.

1964

March:

NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA) began
organizing groups of scientists to assist in more specific definition of
the scientific objectives of Apollo. Outside scientists were called upon
to propose experiments in geology, geophysics, geochemistry, biology,
and atmospheric science.

April:

NASA enlisted the aid of the National Academy of Sciences in
preparing a plan to recruit scientists for training as astronauts. The
first flight of an unmanned Apollo spacecraft was launched from Kennedy
Space Center, demonstrating the compatibility of the spacecraft and the
launch vehicle. OSSA announced opportunities for scientists to fly
experiments on manned space missions, including the lunar landing
missions. The earliest Apollo flights expected to support scientific
instruments were the fourth and fifth. Ranger VII returned the first
close-up television pictures of the lunar surface, showing details as
small as 1 meter across.

August:

MSC proposed to build a special lunar sample receiving laboratory in
which lunar samples, protected from contamination, would be received,
examined, and issued to qualified outside experimenters. The proposal
set off several months of discussion between MSC, Headquarters, and the
Space Science Board concerning the requirements for such a laboratory
and its best location.

May:

The first flight of an unmanned Apollo Spacecraft was launched from
Kennedy Space Center, demonstrating the compatibility of the spacecraft
and the launch vehicle.

July:

OSSA announced opportunities for scientists to fly experiments on
manned space missions, including the lunar landing missions. The
earliest Apollo flights expected to support scientific instruments were
the fourth and fifth.

Ranger VII returned the first close-up television pictures of the lunar
surface, showing details as small as 1 meter across.

August:

MSC proposed to build a special lunar sample receiving laboratory in
which lunar samples, protected from contamination, would be received,
examined, and issued to qualified outside experimenters. The proposal
set off several months of discussion between MSC, Headquarters, and the
Space Science Board concerning the requirements for such a laboratory
and its best location.

1965

March:

First manned flight of a Gemini spacecraft, a three-orbit flight to
test spacecraft systems.

May:

The Space Science Board recommended that samples and astronauts
returning from the moon be quarantined until it could be ascertained
that they had brought back no life forms that might contaminate the
earth.

The NASA Administrator and the Surgeon General agreed to form an
Interagency Committee on Back Contamination to define requirements for
biological isolation and testing of material returned from the moon and
to advise on the construction and operation of a quarantine facility for
samples and astronauts.

June:

Six scientists were selected for training as NASA astronauts. Two
were qualified pilots; the other four were sent to Air Force flight
training school before beginning astronaut training.

July:

OMSF established an Apollo Site Selection Board to work with OSSA,
MSC, and Bellcomm in choosing the sites where Apollo missions would land
on the moon.

The Space Science Board convened a Summer Study at Woods Hole, Mass., to
recommend directions for future space research. The agenda included
manned exploration of the moon and planets. Conferees drew up a list of
15 questions that should determine the course of lunar research.
Following the Woods Hole sessions, another group met at Falmouth, Mass.,
to formulate specific recommendations for the Apollo and related
unmanned projects.

August:

Three finns were awarded six-month contracts to design prototypes of
an Apollo lunar surface experiments package, which would be left on the
moon and would return data by telemetry over a period of time.

September:

Meeting with MSC scientists, Public Health Service physicians
insisted on rigorous quarantine of astronauts and lunar samples
following each lunar mission.

December:

Two Gemini spacecraft performed the first space rendezvous,
maneuvering to a separation distance of one foot with no
difficulty.

1966

The first Apollo spacecraft, a test version of the command and service
module, was launched from Cape Canaveral on a two-stage Saturn 1-B
rocket.

March:

The Gemini VIII spacecraft performed a rendezvous with
an unmanned target vehicle, then docked with it - the first
accomplishment of this critical procedure. The mission was aborted soon
afterwards when a small thruster malfunctioned.

Surveyor I, the first instrumented spacecraft designed
to soft-land on the moon and return scientific data, landed in Oceanus
Procellarum.

August:

Lunar Orbiter I, the first of five photographic
satellites to be launched in the following 12 months, returned detailed
photographs of nine primary and seven alternate Apollo landing sites.
Contracts were let for the first two phases of construction of the lunar
receiving laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center.

December:

MSC created a Science and Applications Directorate to manage the
scientific activities of the center, removing this responsibility from
the Engineering and Development Directorate.

1967

January:

A Lunar Missions Planning Board was established at MSC.

A flash fire in Apollo command module 012 during preflight simulations
at Cape Canaveral killed all three of the astronauts inside.
Investigation of the cause of this tragedy by NASA and by Congress
revealed serious shortcomings in the design of the spacecraft and
management of manufacturing, testing, and manned simulations. Progress
in the lunar landing program was drastically slowed; it was later
estimated that the fire delayed the first lunar landing by 18 months.

February:

MSC announced selection of a scientist, Dr. Wilmot N. Hess, of
Goddard Space Flight Center, to head its new Science and Applications
Directorate.

March:

The Office of Space Science and Applications released the names of
110 principal investigators whose proposals for scientific research on
the lunar samples had been accepted.

Eleven scientists were selected for astronaut training, bringing the
total number of scientist-astronauts to 15.

May:

Prime and backup crews were named for Apollo 7, the first mission to
fly after the fire. No launch date was announced, but assignment of
crews indicated NASA's confidence that problems uncovered by the fire
were on the way to solution.

July:

Construction of the lunar receiving laboratory was completed and
work was under way to install its specialized scientific equipment.

August:

MSC named P. R. Bell, a radiation physicist at the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, to head the lunar receiving laboratory. Bell would
report to MSC's Director of Science and Applications.

Wilmot Hess convened a group of NASA and academic scientists at the
University of California at Santa Cruz to prepare more detailed plans
for lunar exploration based on current expectations for lunar missions.
At the end of the conference Hess named a Group for Lunar Exploration
Planning to work continuously with MSC in defining the scientific
aspects of Apollo missions.

September:

A Lunar Sample Preliminary Examination Team and a Lunar Sample
Analysis Planning Team, both including outside and NASA scientists, were
created to assist the staff of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in the
examination and apportionment of lunar samples.

November:

The first test flight of a complete Saturn V was successfully
launched from NASA's new facilities at Kennedy Space Center and
completed without significant anomalies.

December:

OMSF established a Lunar Exploration Office within the Apollo
Program Office, merging several program units concerned with lunar
exploration. A Systems Development group staffed from OMSF would direct
hardware development; a Lunar Science group staffed from OSSA would
approve operating plans and scientific objectives, payloads, and
principal investigators for specific missions.

During the year:

The Interagency Committee on Back Contamination worked out
procedures for quarantine and release of lunar astronauts and samples
and defined a biological test program to search for extraterrestrial
organisms.

NASA and the National Academy of Sciences worked to establish a center
for research on lunar and planetary samples adjacent to the Manned
Spacecraft Center. The center, to be managed by a consortium of
universities, would be the organization through which interested
researchers could gain access to the lunar materials for scientific work
and would provide office space and other support for visiting
scientists.

1968

January:

The lunar module was given its first test (unmanned) in an
earth-orbiting mission.

August:

Plans were set in motion to fly a circumlunar mission on the second
manned Apollo flight.

In view of problems in building the instruments and constraints
appearing in mission planning, OMSF decided not to fly the lunar surface
experiments package on the first lunar landing mission. Instead, a
simplified set of instruments (a laser reflector and a passive
seismometer) would be developed for the first mission and the more
extensive set currently in development would be flown later.

October:

Apollo 7, the first manned flight of the Apollo command module, was
launched for an 11-day earth-orbital test. All primary objectives of the
flight were met.

An operational readiness inspection of the lunar receiving laboratory
was conducted and numerous discrepancies were noted. A 10-day simulation
of LRL operations similarly uncovered many shortcomings in equipment and
procedures.

December:

The first flight of a manned mission on a Saturn V was launched on
December 21. Apollo 8 flew to the moon, completed 10 orbits, and
returned safely to earth on December 27 . While in lunar orbit the crew
made numerous visual and photographic observations of potential landing
sites.

During the year:

The Apollo Site Selection Board, working with the Group for Lunar
Exploration Planning and Bellcomm, selected five sites as alternatives
for the first lunar landing mission. Work continued into 1969 to produce
and refine a list from which sites for subsequent exploration missions
would be chosen.

1969

March:

Apollo 9 checked out manned operation of the lunar module, including
rendezvous procedures, in a successful 10-day mission in earth orbit.

May:

Apollo 10 carried out all phases of a lunar landing mission except
the final descent and landing. The lunar module descended to 50,000 feet
( 15,000 meters) above the lunar surface, visually verified the approach
to the primary landing site for the first landing, and returned to lunar
orbit to rendezvous with the command module.

OMSF authorized the Marshall Space Flight Center to proceed with
development of a manned lunar roving vehicle capable of carrying two
astronauts several kilometers from their landed lunar module. The
vehicle would be used on the later Apollo exploration missions.

July:

Apollo successfully achieved its primary goal with the landing of
the lunar module Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20
and the successful completion of Apollo 11 on July 24. Astronauts Neil
Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin spent 2.5 hours on the lunar surface,
collected some 50 pounds (23 kg.) of lunar rocks and dust, and emplaced
a passive seismometer and a laser retroreflector.

July-August:

The Apollo 11 samples were brought to the lunar receiving
laboratory, examined, and prepared for issuance to outside scientists.
After a three-week stay, the crew was certified free of any biological
contamination and released.

August:

NASA Headquarters approved a package of experiments for remote
sensing of the moon, to be flown in the Apollo service module on
missions 12 through 20.

September-November:

Lunar samples were released for scientific examination by principal
investigators.

October:

NASA awarded a contract to the Boeing Company to build the lunar
roving vehicle.

November:

Apollo 12 performed the first precision landing (within 1 km. of a
preselected spot) at a site in Oceanus Procellarum near the spacecraft
Surveyor III. In two surface excursions (more than 7% hours
spent outside the lunar module) the astronauts emplaced the first
complete ALSEP instrument package, collected almost 75 pounds (34 kg.)
of samples, and removed several parts from the Surveyor for
analysis.

1970

January:

The Lunar Science Institute adjacent to the Manned Spacecraft Center
was officially dedicated.

Detailed reports on the analysis of samples from Apollo 11 were
presented at a Lunar Science Conference in Houston, the first of a
series of annual conferences on lunar (and later planetary) science.

Budget restrictions and the need to get on with post-Apollo development
forced NASA to cancel Apollo 20 and stretch out the remaining seven
missions to six-month intervals.

April:

Apollo 13, launched on April 11, was aborted two days later when an
oxygen tank containing an undetected defect exploded. Mission Control
teams devised emergency procedures to conserve oxygen and electrical
power, and the spacecraft and crew were brought back safely to earth on
April 17 after looping around the moon. An investigation board concluded
that the explosion resulted from a highly unlikely combination of
circumstances that were traceable to human oversight.

September:

Two more missions, Apollo 15 and 19, were canceled because of budget
cuts. The remaining four missions were designated Apollo 14, 15, I6 and
17.

1971

January:

Apollo 14 landed at a site of prime scientific interest, the Fra
Mauro Formation. During two excursions to the lunar surface the
astronauts emplaced a second set of scientific instruments and collected
some 92 pounds (40 kg.) of samples, but failed to reach a crater that
had been one of their primary objectives. The orbiting CSM carried out
considerable photography during the mission, including photography of a
landing site proposed for a future mission ("bootstrap"
photography).

April:

On the recommendation of the Interagency Committee on Back
Contamination, NASA discontinued the practice of quarantining returned
lunar samples and astronauts. No evidence of viable organisms on the
moon had been produced on three lunar landing missions.

July:

Apollo 15 carried the first extended lunar module and the first
lunar roving vehicle to the moon. The mission landed near Mount Hadley
and Hadley Rille and stayed almost 67 hours on the surface - twice as
long as any prior mission. The astronauts made three trips from their
lunar module, emplaced the third set of experiments (including a
seismometer that completed a three-site seismic network on the moon),
and drove the "rover" a total distance of 17 1/2 miles (28
km.). The orbiting CSM carried the first scientific instrument module
(SIM), which housed sensors that recorded data from the moon's surface.
A moon-circling subsatellite was launched to measure particles and
fields in the lunar environment. During the trip back to earth the
command module pilot retrieved film cassettes from the SIM experiments,
the first extravehicular activity conducted during a moon-to-earth
voyage.

1972

April:

Apollo 16 continued NASA's steady extension of lunar exploration
missions, staying 71 hours on the surface, planting the fourth set of
instruments, and returning almost 200 pounds (91 kg.) of samples. A
second set of SIM instruments was operated, and another subsatellite was
launched.

July:

A summer study on post-Apollo lunar science outlined priorities for
future study of Apollo samples and data. The plan called for two years
of organization and preliminary analysis of the data, to be followed by
two years of careful examination of those data, after which priority
would be given to the key problems that emerged. The study recommended
continued support of the curatorial facilities at MSC and collection of
data from the lunar surface experiments as long as they produced
significant new information.

1973

A Lunar Programs Office was established in the Office of Space
Sciences, NASA Headquarters, to conduct the Lunar Data Analysis and
Synthesis Program. The program would oversee the collection and
scientific analysis of data from the lunar surface instruments and the
lunar samples.

May:

The first post-Apollo manned space flight program began with the
launch of Skylab 1, a Saturn S-IVB stage converted to a
laboratory module capable of supporting three-person crews for long
periods in earth orbit. Skylab was the outgrowth of earlier "Apollo
Applications" planning intended to use the hardware developed for
Apollo to collect scientific data. Skylab 1 used the last
Saturn V rocket ever launched. Crews occupied the laboratory for periods
of 28, 59, and 84 days; the last mission ended on February 8, 1974.

August:

The Office of Manned Space Flight designated an official to be
responsible for the final phasing out of the Apollo project.

1975

July:

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), the first international manned
space mission, was conducted in cooperation with the Soviet Union. An
Apollo command and service module fitted with a special adapter docked
with a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft to conduct joint operations in earth
orbit. After separating from the Soyuz, the Apollo crew carried out a
short program of scientific experiments. ASTP marked the last use of the
launch vehicles and spacecraft built for the Apollo project.